1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to refrigerators and, more particularly, to a refrigerator, which is provided in a refrigerator compartment thereof, with a temperature controlled chamber, which is maintained at a predetermined temperature using cool air of a freezer compartment, thus allowing food items to be stored at a predetermined temperature between a temperature of the refrigerator compartment and a temperature of the freezer compartment.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known to those skilled in the art, a refrigerator is an appliance that stores various kinds of food items for a lengthy period of time, by supplying cool air from an evaporator to a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, to maintain the freshness of the food items. The freezer compartment is used for storing food items which must be maintained below the freezing temperature, such as meat, fish, and ice cream. And the refrigerator compartment is used for storing food items which must be maintained at a low temperature above the freezing temperature, such as vegetables, fruits, and various kinds of beverages.
Recently, a preference for a large-capacity refrigerator has increased, because a large quantity of foods is stored in the large-capacity refrigerator, thus providing convenience to a consumer. The large-capacity refrigerator has a side-by-side structure, which is provided on its left side with a freezer compartment and on its right side with a refrigerator compartment. The refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are provided with a plurality of shelves and drawers to easily store a large quantity of foods in the refrigerator.
Thus, the refrigerator compartment stores vegetables and fruits at a low temperature above the freezing temperature to keep the vegetables and fruits fresh without freezing them. Meanwhile, the freezer compartment freezes and stores perishable meat or fish, thus allowing the meat or fish to be preserved for a lengthy period of time.
When one desires to cook meat or fish stored in the freezer compartment, the meat or fish must be thawed for a lengthy period of time because the meat or fish stored in the freezer compartment are frozen.
Thus, in preparation for cooking meat or fish after storing them in the freezer for a while, it is desirable for the meat or fish to not be completely frozen, to therefore be easily and rapidly cooked. The conventional refrigerator has only the refrigerator compartment which is maintained at a temperature above the freezing temperature, in addition to the freezer compartment. But, the refrigerator compartment is not cold enough to be suitable for storing the meat or fish.
Further, the conventional refrigerator has a problem that the refrigerator compartment is frequently opened and closed, so an interior of the refrigerator compartment is not maintained at a proper temperature and a temperature variation thereof is undesirably great, thus not maintaining the freshness of meat or fish stored therein without a thawing process.